Category: Overwhelmed

from no kids to 11 kids, to grown up kids, to teeny-tiny baby kids — its hectic, it’s crazy and we love it. (for the most part)

but with M’s added health stresses and her intense maintenance routine that is required to help her stay healthy, it’s become a larger juggling act that i just can’t seem to master.
i drop a ball and pick it up, but all the while i’ve dropped another one and another and another.

rinse, repeat.

we got some disturbing news regarding her latest x-ray.

she’s showing progression of the disease. her airways in her lungs are becoming somewhat thicker with mucus.

see, all of our bodies produce mucus, it’s a good thing, but her body produces too much so then it’s difficult for her to remove it; in turn, all of this extra mucus in her lungs becomes a breeding ground for bacteria; hence the many different nebulized medicines and her use of the vest. (this compresses and shakes her to loosen up the mucus.)

her digestive system, primarily the pancreas, also gets clogged with mucus so she must swallow pills before she eats to help her body digest food.

this is why her airway clearance, or as we like to call it, “shakey-shake” is so incredibly important.

this is why we get so upset when she fights us on her treatments.

needless to say, C and i were devastated.
feelings of helplessness sank down deep into our hearts, and our stomachs were sick with angst.

we have this beautiful bright little child but yet there is this silent disease taking over from the inside.

a while back i had written about a program called Casey Cares which helps families with medically fragile children and in our case, children with critical and/or life threatening diseases.
it took us months to fill out the paperwork because we didn’t want to face the reality that she is considered eligible, but when we finally did, we received a wonderful gift: tickets for our whole family to enjoy the day and meals at Hershey Park.

we were ecstatic. little C’s birthday was coming up, what better way to reward him for being an integral part to M’s treatments?? he urges us to do them, he helps with connecting the tubing, the hoses and turning on entertainment, of course.

this is why you donate.

i promise people are grateful for others’ generosity, as we are.

thank you Casey Cares for giving our family a pause from our everyday reality.

thank you for letting me stop the world, my world, even if it was for a day.

i am angry that once she starts a cold the incessant fears and worries creep sink deep into my heart and brain.

i am angry that her little dry cough she has had the last week has made her throw up more times than it should, due to her gagging on the extra mucous that’s in her little body.

i am angry that i need to be mindful we are not excluding little C from anything, as M’s ‘way of life’ progresses.

i am angry that even though shes doing really well, if i say i am angry to others, sometimes i am met with responses of “look on the bright side” or “there are kids much worse!”

i am angry this has made me so selfish.

but isn’t any mother when it comes to her child’s health?

i don’t want this for her. any of it.

but, i will put on lip gloss and fluff my curly hair.
i will go through the motions required for this time of year, because i have children.
and they need me.
happy.
and hopefully i will actually feel the magic.